Tag: Food

For thanksgiving I decided to get creative and try out a new recipe and according to my taste buds I thought it was a success. I followed a recipe from Delicious Everyday, with a few minor tweaks/cheats, to see the original recipe, click here.

Heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a large frying pan, add onion salt and pepper, sautéed 10-15 minutes or until golden brown, on medium-low heat. Place in a bowl to cool. Add second Tbsp of olive oil, add spinach, sautéed until wilted, 2-3 minutes on medium-low, move to bowl to cool. Add final Tbsp of olive oil to pan, place mushrooms stem down, cook for 5 minutes on medium to medium high. Flip and cook for a further 5 minutes. Remove and place on paper towel on a plate to cool (will release water as it cools). Pop all three dishes in the fridge to fully cool.

**I sautéed my veggies in the late morning and left in the fridge. Then assembled about 45 minutes out from dinner time – it seemed to work well and saved time if you are having company!**

Pre-heat oven to 390F.

Place parchment paper on a baking sheet. Gently lay first sheet of puff pastry on the paper. Place half of the onions on the pastry (leave about a two inch edge, so you can close it once filled). Place half of the spinach on top of the onions and sprinkle 1 tsp of thyme. Place the 4 mushrooms (I did them in a square), spread dijon on each. Cover with the rest of the spinach and 1 tsp thyme. Finally add the remaining onion.

Very carefully place the second sheet of pastry on top and fold the edges under the bottom sheet (you want the seams down and tucked underneath). Once assembled, add all ingredients of the vegan egg wash in a small dish and whisk. Brush the top and edges of the pastry with the wash and place in the freezer for 10 minutes. Brush with the wash a second time and place back in the freezer for another 10 minutes. I did a few small cuts to let the steam out (see picture), then bake in oven for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown.

BOOM Vegan Thanksgiving dinner!

*I also made up some mushroom gravy…store bought…who do you think I am?!? It was a lovely addition to this dish!

Last week the family gathered together in beautiful Tuscany for a week-long food and wine extravaganza. What a gorgeous part of the world. We stayed at a villa in San Casciano dei Bagni a small village about an hour South of Siena. Our villa was an old farmhouse tucked away in the hills of a farming and wine community.

We had a pretty jammed packed schedule, but our days mostly consisted of pasta, wine and beautiful views. The highlights would include 3 amazing wine tours in Montalcino, where we enjoyed some pretty fantastic brunellos, an in home pasta making lesson with Chef Eleonora, a walking tour of Siena – my mum may disagree with me – but I enjoyed the hills we had to climb while walking through this amazing city, finally we went to a farm to table and cheese factory tour (I wasn’t so keen on cheese – as the token family vegan – but there were many animals for me to play with – so compromise!).

If you have the chance, I suggest staying in Tuscany at some point, rent a villa, eat great food and just enjoy the village life!

It has been a while since I did a vegan eats post and the other day as I scoured my fridge to make myself lunch I ended up making some pretty awesome tacos. I love when a random assortment of things in your fridge and cupboard make an amazing meal.

Bean, Tomato, Mango Tacos – and a collection of other things in my fridge.

1/4 can romano beans strained (or beans of your choice)

1/4 mango sliced

Handful of grape tomatoes chopped

Handful of arugula

2 Tbsp medium salsa (or salsa of your choice)

Dash of garlic powder

Dash of chili powder

2 Tbsp chipotle hot sauce (I used Cholula brand)

2 corn tortillas

Strain beans, add about 1/4 can and the chopped tomatoes into a frying pan. Add 1 Tbsp of the chipotle sauce, garlic and chili powder to the beans and cook over medium heat. Slice mango and heat tortillas if desired. Once the tomatoes looked cooked and the beans are warm, layer them on the tortilla. Top with mango, salsa, the second Tbsp of chipotle sauce and arugula.

Polenta!! If you haven’t added this to your meal rotation do so now! I have had it a handful of times, but always thought of it as one of the ‘exotic’ foods that must be tough to cook at home…like lasagna (oh boy was I wrong. SO EASY!). To say the least this has become a dinner time staple at my house.

Easy Polenta Dinner For One – Two Ways!

1/2 cup of pre-cooked polenta (normally found near the cheese or spreads in a tube)

1/2 Tbsp Becel vegan margarine

dash of garlic powder

Toppings Option 1

1/4 cup chopped sweet potato

1/2 cup shredded brussel sprouts

2 Tbsp shredded mozzarella flavour Daiya cheese

pepper and garlic (fresh or powdered) to taste

1 tsp olive oil

In a small frying pan add olive oil, sweet potato and sprouts and sauté over medium heat. Add spices to taste. When veggies are ready top with Daiya in the frying pan before serving (so it melts).

Toppings Option 2

1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes chopped

3-4 leaves fresh basil chopped

pepper and garlic (fresh or powdered) to taste

1 tsp olive oil

In a small frying pan add tomatoes and olive oil, sauté over medium heat. When tomatoes are almost done add basil, pepper and garlic powder.

Meanwile, slice polenta and put approximately 1/2 cup into a microwavable bowl (or glass measuring cup) add 1/2 Tbsp of margarine. Microwave for 2 minutes. Add garlic powder and mash polenta until it becomes one sticky ball. Spread on a plate (to make a base for your veggies), add veggies and serve. Pair with your favourite vegan protein and you have one easy and delicious dinner!

Enjoy!

Toppings Option 1

Toppings Option 2

Until next time day dreamers!

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Chili night was always my favourite growing up. When I moved out, it was one of the first meals I asked my mum to teach me how to make. My mums of course was not vegan, but to this day still follow her recipe with a few meatless modifications!

Simple Bean Chili

1 can crushed tomatoes

1 can kidney beans (drained and rinsed)

1 can chickpeas (drained and rinsed) (or any bean of your choice!)

1 container mushrooms chopped

1 zucchini chopped

1 tsp garlic powder

2 Tbsp chili power (or to taste)

1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

Pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in a pot on medium-high heat, stir in spices. Let cook for 10-20 minutes, test if more spices need to be added, then turn to low heat and let simmer 30 minutes to 1 hour. If you have time let simmer for 1-2 hours or add all ingredients into a slow cooker over medium-low heat for 3-4 hours. Scoop into bowls and enjoy! For an cheesy finish, add Daiya Shredded Cheese on top.

Enjoy!

Until next time day dreamers.

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Oddly enough, as a kid I did not like grilled cheese. I think I was always a bit of a cheese snob and I generally don’t like butter in combination with anything other than bread. Then last summer I decided to try grilled cheese again and I was really feeling it. Now as I navigate veganism, I was still having a hankering for it so I gave Daiya Cheese a shot.

Butter the outside and inside of both slices of bread. Break Daiya slice in half (my bread was tiny), add chutney. In a frying pan over medium heat grill sandwich until brown. Serve with chutney to dip.

Enjoy!

Until next time day dreamers.

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So, I recently discovered that there is a Whole Foods about 20 minutes from my house. This discovery is the best and the worst thing ever. Amazing that they have such a great selection of vegan proteins, cheeses, sauces, you name it. Bad in the fact that I purchased $12 dried cranberries while I was there, just because. (Side note – I am currently eating said cranberries and they are actually amazing…just saying). So this post is inspired by my new found favourite store.

Lazy Vegan ‘Alfredo’ Pasta

2 cups whole wheat pasta (or white if that floats your boat)

1 zucchini

1 cup broccoli

1 tbsp olive oil

4 tbsp NONA alfredo-style sauce

Heat olive oil in a frying pan, add chopped zucchini and broccoli, cover to steam, stirring occasionally. In a pot bring water to a boil, add your favourite pasta, cook to your liking. Add 1 tablespoon of NONA sauce to the vegetables, stir in to heat. Drain pasta, add 3 tablespoons of NONA sauce (or to taste). Add pasta and vegetables in a bowl and serve.

Until next time day dreamers.

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Alright so I am on day 21 of the vegan lifestyle. Not going to lie. I cracked, I needed something sweet and ate a chocolate chip cookie. Don’t hate me vegan police! But other that that I am adjusting really well and enjoying cooking new dishes! So it has inspired me to do a weekly ‘vegan eats’ post!

Jerk Tacos

Yellow peppers

Portobello mushrooms

Zucchini

Black beans

Tomatoes

Salsa verde

Saha jerk marinade

Corn tortilla

Sauté peppers, mushrooms and zucchini with jerk marinade. Heat black beans with marinade. Layer in tortilla, top with chopped tomatoes and salsa verde.

This was a super easy dish to make and it was full of flavour from the marinade! Now to make everything I can with this jerk marinade! Saha products can be found here.

Until next time day dreamers!

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I started this year off with an Eat Clean, Train Dirty post about my new years clean eating regime. I would love to tell you that I am the best pregnant person ever and have followed this to a T, but that just wouldn’t be right. To see my previous post on what D and I were going to be eating more of and eating less of click here. The concept was really to eat whole foods and avoid processed or bleached foods (aka white bread/rice).

I am proud to say that in my first trimester I was a total champ. I was lucky enough to be feeling good and I was all about green veggies, lentils and everything good. Then came the second trimester – can we say sugar?? I don’t think I have consumed so much sugar in my entire life. I was all about ice cream, candy and to top it off any white pasta/bread/carb I could get my hands on. But hey, I am pregnant. I was just giving the baby what it wanted!

I am happy to report that I have cleaned up my diet as I start my third trimester, but I will be honest, you can still find sour keys and peanut butter ice cream at my house. To make the shift back to healthier eating this is what I did:

Breakfast: Vanilla Raw Vegan Protein mixed with 1/2 banana and unsweetened almond milk. I have been playing with a few different proteins, I started with Vega – natural flavour, which I loved until the formula was changed. Lucky for me, my crossfit coach is a health/nutrition fanatic and he started selling Sunwarrior Raw Vegan Protein at the gym and I love it!

Morning Snack: Depending on what I have in the fridge that day: Cherries, Grapes, a peach or apple

Since we are in the midst of summer fresh fruit and veggies are amazing and I have been working them into all of my meals. I would say overall I am eating pretty clean, so I don’t feel too bad about having something sweet in the afternoon/evening. Also as you may have noticed, both fish and dairy are back in my diet for now. I was having some pretty intense fish and cheese cravings so I let it happen, post-natal I will work towards being vegan again. You just have to do what the baby wants right now.

I may have been a little sad to see my brother and his wife move to England in November. Who really wants their family to move far away?? Then again I now have an amazing excuse to go to the UK! Last week I traveled to London for a quick one week visit with T & F. I have never been before so I was super excited and they had a super packed itinerary for me too!

I flew over night and arrived bright and early in London and in an effort to get me adjusted to the 5 hour time change, we went straight out to Borough Market for lunch and exploring. This is also when I decided I will now start my own savory pie shop in Toronto. Pieminister… oh man SO good and they had more than one veggie pie option! We then took a long walk home along the Thames. Oh and of course we went to visit the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

You can’t see it in this picture. But this was a fire breathing tuba man. Amazing!

After a quiet night in, I woke up ready to go on Sunday. We checked out the Tate Britain, which had a really cool mix of modern and classical art. We then went home to get ready for a nice walk through Battersea Park with the pup and on to a dog friendly Sunday Brunch at a local pub. It then seemed VERY fitting to head out to the O2 for you know a good ol’ American style country and western show. Yup that is right. My first ever country concert was in England – go figure! Anyway, Jason Alden and Lady Antebellum were fantastic!

On Monday morning my brother and I hit the town, starting out a fantastic day at the Imperial War Museum, heading out for a fish and chip lunch and ending the day at the Camden Market. Where we found the most interesting ‘rave’ store ever – Cyberdog. Neon and black light clothes for everyone, even babies!

Next on the docket, the Tower of London. I can’t help that I have a weird obsession with old timey prisons and dungeons and this was a high priority tourist destination for me! That night went for high tea at the Wolseley, and made it our dinner before rounding off the day by seeing The Ruling Class play starring James McAvoy (even better looking in person by the way!!!) We ended the evening by taking a double-decker bus home. How very British!

I love that in the background there is a very modern building (nicknamed the shard as it resembles a shard of glass). The mix of centuries is why I love Europe so much!

By Wednesday, my legs were aching and I was pretty pooched from the 4 days of intense sightseeing! So T and I only planned one activity for the day. So off to Harrods we went. I browsed through the obscenely expensive clothes and then settled on some fancy….$40 dollar tea (yeah, when shopping in pounds…try not to convert in your head…. it makes you very very sad!) We ended the night by going to a Pub Quiz put on by one of T & F’s local friends. What a FUN idea. Everyone enjoys a couple of drinks and answers topical pop culture and England specific questions in small teams! Too much fun! Team 4 girls 1 quiz were just shy of taking home the bacon aka 50 pound bar tab!

Thursday was my last full day in London as my flight left midday on Friday. T and I grabbed the pup and headed to Hyde Park for a walk, not to mention it was a gorgeous day! To walk the park it took at least an hour, we were then sufficiently ready for lunch. We walked around Portobello Market for a bit before finding a pub… for me to get fish and chips…again. I ended my trip by seeing a lovely surprise guest, a friend I lived with for 3 months in Australia when I was 15, for drinks and then heading on to dinner at Dean Street Townhouse. All I have to say is ask for the vegetarian menu…and get the mac and cheese… oh man SO GOOD!

Friday I said my goodbyes had a quick breakfast, then I was on my way! What a fantastic way to spend a week! I am already planning my next trip, next time D will have to join me!!